Carrots

Our crop of carrots from our garden were pulled last week.  I was surprised how many of them had three legs!  I don't know if they were separate carrots that didn't have enough space to grow so they fused together, or if this is just what organic looks like!  The ones at the farmer's market are smaller and only have one body and no legs. . . .

We're starting to get a good garden.  The snow peas are done. The basil and cilantro did well.  The grape tomatoes are doing great, and the full size tomatoes are starting to turn red.  I just need to figure out how to make my own mozzarella so I can make caprese salad!  I do have the ingredients for pico de gallo since Jason has several jalapeno plants on the deck. 

In the interest of full disclosure for those of you who think I have accomplished more than I have, I do not actually do any gardening! Jason maintains a nice deck garden of jalapenos and herbs, and our next door neighbor maintains the larger vegetable garden in our yard.  We provide the space, and she maintains our shared garden.  It works out deliciously!

My Birthday

I celebrated my birthday on Monday with tremendous fanfare: now in addition to sharing my birthday with Bob Dole and Alex Trebek, I also share it with the new royal baby!  

 

But the only little boy that matters in my life is this one.  Look how cute he is ready to cut into that ice cream cake for dinner! (Yes, that's what we ate for dinner.)   His daddy did a great job ordering it.  It's Oreo ice cream (Jason's favorite) with M&M decorations (Will's favorite).

I had a great lunch date, too!  Ryan treated me to lunch and a bouquet of flowers.  I cut a small portion of them to put into my Mother's Day 2012 vase that I keep at my desk.   The rest I put in a water bottle since I couldn't find a vase in the office kitchen!

One more picture of me and my favorite four year old!  My birthday present to myself is the green jade necklace that I'm wearing.  At least that's what I told myself when I bought it in India last month!

 

New Bed

Will goes through phases where he likes to make a bed on the floor of his room instead of sleep in his big, comfortable bed.   This is one battle I have never found worth fighting, so I help him lay out the blankets for his campout on the floor.  I had to take this picture the other morning when I was leaving for work and I saw this adorable sight.    At least he seems to be sleeping well! 

Swimming and Racing

Jason took Will to his first NASCAR race today at the Chicagoland Speedway.  They made it through about half the race before the little guy tired out.  After Will woke up from a nap on the couch at home, he gave me a recap of the race, including his impression of how the race cars went "really really fast."  He also came home with a coveted new little race car decked out in M&M logos.  Since it's his favorite candy, of course it's his favorite car.   Not sure if race day was as big of a hit as Jason was hoping it would be.  He seemed satisfied if not thrilled with how the afternoon went.   

Saturday night we took Will to the gym to go swimming.  This was our second trip this week (we also went Sunday evening), because I have been so impressed with Will's new found enthusiasm and confidence for the water.  He has never been a particularly fearful swimmer -- especially with his puddle jumper on -- but his favorite water activity is to go down a slide over and over and over again.  Our gym pool doesn't have a slide that Will can ride and only a part of the pool is shallow enough for him to stand, so mostly we float around working on kicking,  play catch with a ball or have races to the wall.   (They actually have a slide, but it's restricted to very short operating hours and 48'' tall riders - both of which are lame and not part of their marketing pitch on facility tours. . . .)  Starting on Sunday he seemingly out of nowhere starting jumping in without coaxing; flipping himself onto his back to "swim backwards" and putting his face in the water voluntarily.  We even progressed to the topic of dive sticks and goggles last night.  So excited to see him getting comfortable in the water!  Swimming is a very important skill for a person to acquire, and it's an activity our family loves. 

Ride For AIDS Chicago

This weekend Ryan is participating in Ride For AIDS Chicago, a 200 mile bike ride that is the largest fund-raiser for his employer, TPAN.   Will and I met up with the riders in Bristol, Wisconsin, at a park for their lunch break.  

We got there about 10 minutes before Ryan arrived and had a great time cheering on other riders arriving at the pit stop.   Then we shared lunch with part of Ryan's Election Cycles team and played on the playground equipment before driving home.

The playground was definitely not a new and generic suburban park.  It had a (gasp!) merry-go-round and all metal equipment.  We had to skip one set of slides since they were too hot, but this giant slide was in the shade.  Will zipped down it a half dozen times before I had to pull him away.

Museum of Science & Industry

On Saturday all of us went to the city to check out the Museum of Science & Industry.  Of course with 10 people (6 adults and 4 kids) we couldn't all stay together, so I only have pictures of Will and the things we did.  He wanted to climb in and on stuff and wasn't very impressed with the exhibits on the main floors except the model railroad.  He found his happy spot in the "Idea Factory" on the lower level.  Next time we go we'll have to just hang out down there.  They have the children's area; farm; submarine; Ominmax; and the food court.  We'd never have to leave that floor! 

 

 Will drove a tractor for this photo op, above, and then a combine for a virtual harvest.

After a full day at the museum, we retired to our house for a dinner of leftovers and some hanging out to end the weekend.   The kids mostly entertained themselves with Will's toys while the adults talked.  At some point we realized how late it was due to the increasingly short fuses of the two little ones.  At one point they were fighting over Grandma's Kindle; my iPad; and the TV.  Of course each wanted whatever the other had.  Happily they finally settled in to watch some of Will's favorite YouTube toy videos together.  It was funny to hear his commentary as he told Lexi the names of various Cars characters. 

Fifth of July

On Friday the guys played golf; the Kansas crew plus Grandma went to the Field Museum; and Will and I stayed home for his doctor's appointment and resting.  We were going to go to a fireworks show in the evening, but it was just too hard to get the momentum to go after everyone settled in at home in the evening.  The kids enjoyed playing in the sandbox and with Rachel some more while the adults ate Chicago style pizza and caught up on stories.  We ended up skipping the fireworks and heading over to the hotel pool for a fun but COLD swim.

Our family of three did catch the fireworks on our way home from swimming.   We just drove over near the festival grounds and parked in a restaurant parking lot with a half dozen other vehicles and watched the 15 minutes of fireworks from the comfort of the car.  Worked out great!

Fourth of July

We had a fantastic long weekend with family.  On Thursday, we had 7 adults and 4 kids for a cookout and fun in the sun and sand.  Uncle Ryan and Will got an early start in the sandbox while waiting for family to arrive from Indiana and Kansas.

After Ali and Carter arrived with Grandma and Grandpa, the kids started a water fight.  Ali ended up wielding the hose for a big portion of the game but was good to let her brother and cousin gang up on her. 

Will is sporting a patriotic plate of "hot dog in a bun," and blueberries and strawberries while chatting up his daddy during our late lunch.  He's wearing his second red shirt by this point since his first outfit was drenched.

Lexi LOVED seeing Rachel and spent a lot of her time showering Rachel with love.  The dog was in heaven, too, since this brought out a little protectiveness in "his" dog with Will, so she got tons of love from the little kids.

Four Year Appointment

Finally took Will in today for his 4-year-old check-up.  All was well.  His TV/ipad consumption is at the high side of their acceptable range, and he needs to eat more veggies.  But otherwise, he impressed them with his brilliance and charm.  

My only question (besides how much Little Einstein and Octonauts is too much) was whether he was borderline anemic due to all the bruises he always has on his leg.  The doctor laughed and said that's just a sign he's playing the way he should.  (We thought that for the most part, as well, but wanted to ask.)  She said as long as they were on his shins and knees and not on his thighs or stomach then it was normal.  

His stats were 39 inches and 33 pounds which is nice and proportional.  He's traditionally been tracking between the 25th-50th percentile lines, but today's measurements were almost exactly on the 25th percentile line.   

He did have to get two shots.  There are four that he needs before kindergarten, so we did two today and two were saved for next time.  He was very brave and only cried after the MMR one was stinging in his leg.  After picking out his Iron Man sticker at the front desk, the quiet tears stopped.   I saved him this awesome cookie from Disney World for the occasion.  (Sadly that cookie has an expiration date of December 2013 printed on it so it was fine to sit on the shelf for six weeks. . . .)  He ate the back bumper today and gets to save the rest for another time.